Eithne shut the door behind her as quietly as she could muster and started off down the corridor. She was in her uniform once again, although her arm was still in the blue sling from the day before. Healers could do enough, but when it was a strain it was pointless and a 'waste of talent' to have them heal that. Besides, even with a team of a thousand healers she was pretty sure she'd still feel as kicked around as she did right now. It wasn't so much her meeting with the Captain that had her feeling so black inside, and anyone who knew the real story knew exactly why she felt the way she did. Cols, Martine, and Geoff weren't tailing after her for once, which meant they were probably back on this duty or that duty. She hoped it was hoeing the yard, or fetching water from outside of Simanel without a horse and bringing it back into the City.

That would have been amusing on any other day. It was a bit amusing, but she doubted Agrippa would give them the same punishment he'd given her. Of course, that was probably because she'd just spent the last hour retelling everything she knew, and how none of them were responsible for what happened, or how it happened, or anything. Eithne had taken every bit of blame, of course it was up to Agrippa whether or not he'd be punishing the others... but she'd said what she felt she needed to. It hadn't been their fault. She had forced each and every one of them to go. With blackmail.. and worse.. She'd purposely begged Eragos to go along. She'd used to friendship with him to gain ground. She'd even.. well.

It was easier to paint herself a horrible person right now. Easier to say she was using them all the entire time then to think she was as emotionally unbalanced as she had been, as she was now. It felt like there was a great gaping hole where her heart used to be, and a month tending to every one's least favorite thing to guard wasn't going to brighten her up. No, she was pretty sure she'd end up slitting her own throat in the end.

( Black and getting blacker. )